IDENTITAESKARTE - Edward
and Nan ROSS
Edward Ross and his wife Nan were arrested in Jersey in September 1942.
The couple, shocked by the plight of Russian prisoners of war, were out
with the intention of raising their spirits by taking them food and showing
them a sketch map giving the latest position on the Eastern front. Whilst
in possession of the map they were approached by German guards who immediately
seized them and took them to the public prison in St. Helier.
The Germans then searched their home and, finding a wireless set, accused the couple of holding BBC news parties. Despite denying all accusations, Edward and Nan were sentenced to six months imprisonment in Coutances, in France. However after six months, they did not gain their freedom but were separated, not knowing if they would ever see each other again. Nan was sent to the notorious “hostage prison” at Romainville and Edward to Compiègne Prison where he managed to smuggle a letter out to the Swiss Red Cross in Paris. As a result, the couple were reunited in an internment camp at Vittel in France.
The couple were liberated in September 1944. Edward died in 1983 in Jersey, Nan having died a few years earlier.